Give Me That Engine Cleaner, I'm Out of Shampoo!

Now that you are hopefully not washing your hair in your swimming pool, i.e., have decided to filter out the chlorine in your shower water, I have more hair news!

Last week, a friend of mine told me about the famous Brazilian keratin hair treatment to straighten hair.  I’m sure you’ve heard of it: it is supposed to contain formaldehyde, and there have been many reports of both hairdressers and their clients feeling sick after the application.  Never mind, though, it’s all in the name of beauty!  At any rate, this friend said that after the treatment, she could only use  “sulfate free” hair products. 

My first thought was that, if you already had formaldehyde in your hair, why bother?  But I wanted to check my own hair products, sure that my expensive Weleda shampoos were sulfate-free.  I was disappointed to find out they weren’t, especially since I had just bought a couple of bottles on special!   I also have to admit that at that point, I had no idea what the problem with sulfate was, and I needed a really good reason to throw out my stash of Weleda. 

It turns out sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) , or amonium lauryl sulfate (ALS), are very potent degreasers, and common ingredients in every shampoo and every cleaning agent we use, like soaps, body washes, garage floor cleaners and engine cleaners.  Wait, wait!  garage floor cleaners?  engine cleaners?  So, why am I putting this on my head and on my body?  I admit that sometimes after working all day in the garden I am in desperate need of a good overall wash, but...

These sulfates are actually surfactants.  If you want the long definition, you can look it up on wikipedia.  But from what I know, a surfactant is a “surface active” ingredient in your shampoo.  Its chemical nature makes it surround and trap oil and dirt from a surface, eg, your hair.  In other words, the surfactant is the detergent, the cleaning part of the formula.  Shampoo and soap producers have used SLS and ALS for many years, for the simple reasons that they are both very cheap and make lots of foam and bubbles.  The foam and bubbles help us  feel as good as the people in TV commercials who are washing their long tresses in a luxurious shower with tons and tons of foam.

My research has also shown that SLS and ALS could very well be a contributor so hair thinning and hair loss.  I should think so!  Put on some of that garage cleaner on your head and see how fast you start losing hair, my friends.  At any rate, I have enough information now  to throw out that expensive German shampoo.  The best news is that I can blame my thinning hair on my old shampoo,  rather than my age!
Bad news is, if I need to clean the garage floor  I don’t have a good cleaners left.

When I buy shampoo, the first thing I do is to smell it!  no kidding.  If it smells good and I think it’s from a reliable company, like Weleda (ouch), a German company that makes many “natural” products, I buy it.  Most people like the aroma part, and we all love the bubbles once we bring it home, but we are also cost conscious. But check the ingredients!  I have always known that neither the bubbles nor the aroma have anything to do with the resulting cleanliness of my hair.  So if there is any doubt about whether ALS or SLS is good for me, I am going to drop it, knowing that bubbles and foam are not needed, anyway.


On the North Fork, I went to one of my favorite natural products store, JET’s Dream in Greenport, and asked about some sulfate-free products.  Predictably, JET’s has plenty of options.  She carries Burt’s Bees, JR Watkins, BeeCeuticals, Vermont Soap Organics, and Dr. Bronners.  Dr. Bronners actually has come up with a whole new line of products, besides of course the old tried and true pure castille soap, that comes in huge bottles.  I took this liquid soap to Africa and actually washed and shampooed with it for two weeks.  It worked great, and it’s nice to know the company is coming up with more products.

Which one did I pick?  Well, after smelling them all, I bought Burt’s Bees Grapefruit and Sugar Beet Shampoo, and Pomegranate and Soy Conditioner.  I also bought an SLS free  body wash.  The price was right, they smell great, and there was also some nice bubble action going on! 

JET’s Dream is offering a buy one, get one 50% off special on all the above products.  Just mention the North Fork Patch and Liliana’s blog!